Editorial: Violence not an option in political debate

NINE-YEAR-old Christina Green went to her congresswoman'sconstituent meeting Saturday morning outside a Safeway northwest ofTucson. The girl was on her student council, and a friend of hermother thought it would be nice for her to see government in action.

We all know about the mayhem that followed outside that grocerystore: Christina and five others, including a federal judge, wereshot dead. Fourteen others were wounded. The most serious of thosewounded, the congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords, remains in criticalcondition after surgery. Jared Loughner, a mentally disturbed, 22-year-old college dropout, faces federal charges.

This isn't the model of democracy Christina was supposed to see.What happened on Saturday was not only a physical assault on 20people, it was an attack on the political foundation of our country.

While this certainly isn't the first time a deranged gunman hasshot one of our leaders, this is different. It's the first time inthe era of the Internet and the 24-hour television news cycle.Moreover, Loughner didn't fire with a six-shot revolver. He used a 9-millimeter Glock, with which he could rapidly fire up to 33 roundsbefore reloading. It's a weapon he could legally carry concealedwithout a permit, thanks to a state law that went into effect lastsummer.

For the sake of the future of our country, for the sake ofChristina's generation, we must not simply write this off as thework of a crazy man. That's too simplistic a response. That alonedoes not explain what happened.

Make no mistake: From all we know so far about Loughner, he is amentally unstable young man. But he also planned his assault,purchasing the gun about five weeks before and left disjointed notesindicating that he understood the severity of his actions.

Indeed, almost anyone who considers going out and shooting anelected official is, by definition, psychologically troubled. And,consequently, all the more impressionable.

It's for that reason that we must think twice before we loosenour gun laws or unleash our vitriolic hyperbole. We must back awayfrom labeling our political opponents as "domestic enemies," avoidusing cross hairs on congressional maps to identify those we seek todefeat at the polls, and resist extreme mischaracterizations ofpolicy proposals in an attempt to incite constituencies to action.We must keep in mind that, while most of us can distinguish betweenfact and hyperventilation, some consumers of the rhetoric are notrational.

It's for that reason that we must turn down the volume on bothsides of the political aisle and replace it with mature, civildebate. We must return to a political culture where we can disagreepassionately, but not violently.

It's the best thing we could do to honor Dorothy Morris, PhyllisSchneck, Dorwan Stoddard, Gabriel Zimmerman, Judge John Roll andlittle Christina. It's the best message we could send to Rep.Giffords as she struggles for life.